UK Unionist Party

The UK Unionist Party was a minor conservative and Ulster unionist political party in Northern Ireland that existed from 1995 to 2008. The party was founded by former Ulster Unionist Party member Robert McCartney to contest the North Down by-election in 1995, and the party believed that Northern Ireland should be governed from London instead of being granted home rule. The party opposed the replacement of the Royal Ulster Constabulary with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, opposed Ireland having any role in the governance of Northern Ireland, and opposed Sinn Fein's participation in the peace process, and it won only North Down in 1995; it would not retain the seat after the 2001 election. After McCartney's 2007 retirement from politics, the UKUP ceased to be a registered party.